SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Zac Blaydes scored a golden goal in the first minute of the opening overtime period to lift Evansville past the Drake University men's soccer team, 2-1, Wednesday, Nov. 9 in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament held on the campus of Missouri State University.

"Excellent performance but tough result to accept," said head coach Gareth Smith. "It is evident that we were the better of the two teams, for large stretches of the game, and created enough good chances to win the game. I am exceptionally proud of our young men today who showed incredible resolve and desire to play two games in two days and perform the way we did."

 The loss ends the 2016 season for Drake, who played on short rest after beating Bradley Tuesday in the tournament's play in game, as the team finished 6-12-1 overall. Evansville advanced to the semifinals to take on SIUE Friday. The Purple Aces moved to 10-7-3 with the win.
 
Wednesday's match between the two longtime rivals was another exciting one in the all-time series. The two schools combined for seven goals in the regular season match in Des Moines, Iowa and it looked like it was heading for another high-scoring affair Wednesday with each team scoring in the early stages of the match. After the initial fireworks, both teams settled in and traded several good opportunities, but 90 minutes of soccer wasn't enough to determine the winner so it headed to overtime.
 
In overtime, Drake senior Andre Heine (Furtwangen, Germany) earned a yellow card just seconds in after a hard foul just past midfield on a Purple Aces player. The Purple Aces were awarded a free kick as the left-footed Blaydes sent a deep ball that bounced off the turf and over the outstretched arms of Drake goalkeeper Darrin MacLeod (Waterloo, Ontario) into the net for the golden goal.  
 
Drake's Antonio Sanchez (Coralville, Iowa) made his mark immediately in the match's first five minutes. The freshman, who had an outstanding first season for the Bulldogs, stole the ball from the Purple Aces deep in their territory and fired a beautiful cut back shot from right outside the box that found the back of the net for his first career goal (4:52). Evansville earned the equalizer in the 13^th minute on Ian McGrath's 10^th goal of the season.
 
Drake finished with 12 shots including five on goal. Evansville had 10 shots including four on goal.
 
The loss ends the stellar careers for several Bulldogs as Heine, James Grunert (Muskego, Wis.), Ben LeMay (Hugo, Minn.), MacLeod, James Pendrigh (Canterbury, New Zealand), Mueng Sunday (Coralville, Iowa), Adam Weatherly (Parkville, Mo.), Eric Williams (West Des Moines, Iowa) and James Wypych (Wellington, New Zealand) played their final matches.

"A special mention to our senior class who are a fantastic group of young men who have left a strong legacy in our program," Smith said. "They have led us to championships and have shaped our program for future success. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to be part of their development and careers!"